Crow natural history

On a remote island in the South Pacific…

New Caledonia is located in the Pacific Ocean, some 1,200 km east of
Australia and 1,500 km northwest of New Zealand. It consists of a main island,
Grande Terre (16,000 km2), and several smaller sister-islands. The island group
derives from the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland (rather than being of
volcanic origin) and is renowned for its striking flora and fauna, including
many species that live nowhere else in the world.

One of the species unique to New Caledonia is the New Caledonian crow (Corvus
moneduloides) which inhabits Grande Terre, and the nearby island Maré, where it
is believed to have been introduced by man. Superficially, it looks similar to
other crow species, including carrion crows (Corvus corone) which are also
common in the UK. Likewise, their life style—judging from our limited knowledge
of wild crows—is that of a ‘normal’ crow. Its sophisticated tool-oriented
behaviour, however, clearly sets it apart from all other bird species, and even
most primates.

New Caledonian crows use tools to forage for invertebrates in dead wood. They
use at least four different tool types (
Hunt 1996, 2002, 2004a), including tools
cut from the thorny edges of leaves of Pandanus trees. These tools are produced
in a series of manufacturing steps and have complex shapes – they are the most
sophisticated animal tools yet discovered (Hunt 2000, 2004b).

The shape of Pandanus tools varies regionally, and it has been suggested that
this may be the result of cultural transmission of tool designs, with crows
learning from relatives and other members of social groups how to manufacture
and use particular designs (Hunt 2000, 2003). In other words, it is conceivable
that these crows possess a culture of tool technology – akin to that found in
our own species.

Link

References

Hunt, G.R. (1996). Manufacture and use of hook-tools by New Caledonian crows. Nature379: 249-251

Hunt, G.R. (2000). Human-like, population-level specialization in the manufacture of pandanus tools by New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 267: 403-413. DOI 10.1098/rspb.2000.1015

Hunt, G.R., & Gray, R.D. (2004). The crafting of hook tools by wild New Caledonian crows. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Suppl.) 271: S88-S90. Published online 30 October 2003, DOI 10.1098/rsbl.2003.0085